


Part I: Allons-y Alonso

by Amuly



Series: Life is All [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-09
Updated: 2010-05-14
Packaged: 2017-11-03 23:18:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/387086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amuly/pseuds/Amuly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After sleeping with the young man the Doctor introduced him to, Jack and this Alonso chat a little bit. When Jack finds out that Alonso actually knew the Doctor, he begins to suspect that things are afoot. Is this young man himself merely the Doctor's gift to Jack, or is there something more to it? </p><p>COE Fix-It Fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack discovers that Alonso knew the Doctor, and begins to suspect that things are afoot.

Jack watched as the young man pulled on his clothes. He was kind of cute, in that earnest puppy-dog sort of way. The uniform helped. “So, I take it by the looks of that uniform, you’re navy?”

Alonso looked over from where he was buttoning up his shirt, almost surprised to hear Jack talking to him. “Yes. No. Well…”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Some officer you are.”

“Well, I’m just a midshipman. And it is…was…on a cruise liner.”

“That’s close enough to navy,” Jack confirmed. “Where were you stationed?”

Jack noted that Alonso seemed surprised that he was still talking to him. Did he really give off that much of a love-‘em-and-leave-‘em vibe? He hadn’t before; not to this extent. More of a love-‘em-and-chat-amicably-afterward vibe. It must just be…since…

“I was on the Titanic. Part of Max Capricorn’s fleet. You heard of him?”

Jack shook his head. The look of surprise on Alonso’s face didn’t go unnoticed. “I’ve been…terrestrial, for a while.”

Alonso frowned. “Must have been your whole life. Company’s been around for over a century.”

Jack sighed. This is why he should never talk to them afterwards. “Yeah, well, I live under a very large rock. So, Max Capricorn’s got a big cruise line company?”

“The biggest in the galaxy.” Alonso was dressed now, holding that cute little hat under one arm. He shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. 

“Listen, just, sit down. You’re making me nervous.” Jack sat up on his bed and stretched, popping his back. “Here, you want something to drink?” He pressed a contact on the wall, and out popped a mini-bar. He had to admit, after so long on Earth, it was nice to have some of the creature comforts he had grown used to in his days as a Time Agent again. Jack grabbed himself a water and nodded at Alonso. 

“I, uh, water’s fine.”

Jack tossed a water across the room, then closed up the mini-bar. Alonso caught it somewhat awkwardly. Weren’t exactly too worried about physical requirements in the navy nowadays, were they? Shame. Not that Alonso hadn’t performed physically admirably just a few minutes ago.

“So, Titanic, huh? Why exactly did he pick that name?”

Alonso took a sip from the water bottle. It was kind of cute, the way he pressed the back of his hand to his lips after he drank. He really had that whole awkward-cute thing down. Still, the earnestness: almost annoying. Definitely could get annoying over long periods of time. Jack’s stomach clenched. _He_ had seemed so earnest, when he had first…offering him the coffee…

He blinked and took a long gulp from his water, trying to focus on what Alonso was saying. “…and it turns out he was trying to crash it, so I guess the name was appropriate. We were just lucky the Doctor was there, otherwise-”

“What?!” Jack jumped up from his bunk. He gripped a slightly terrified Alonso by the shoulders, fingernails digging into the fabric. “What do you mean, the Doctor? How do you know the Doctor? When was this?!” His eyes flicked frantically between Alonso’s, desperately seeking answers. So the Doctor knew this kid. That’s why he knew his name. But…why…

“I…yeah. He showed up, he was a stowaway. Saved us all, told me how to keep the engine’s power….”

“What Earth-year was this? Do you know?”

Alonso thought back for a moment, nervousness obviously impeding his memory. “I…I…it was Christmas! Christmas on Earth, that’s why we were there. And…it was after that star that came…”

“The Christmas star? One year after, two?”

“Just…just the next year, I think.”

Jack released Alonso from his grip and walked back to his bunk. The Doctor knew Alonso. The Doctor had worked with Alonso, had used him to help save everybody. It was before…he was still alive…and now the Doctor introduced them…

Jack down heavily down on the bed. It was probably just some coincidence. The Doctor knew them both; they were both in the same bar, so why not introduce them. He was sure to have heard about what happened – _but apparently didn’t care enough to_ fix it – so he was throwing Jack a bone. That’s all there was to this.

“Jack? Jack?” Alonso’s voice cut through Jack’s reverie and he glanced back up. Poor kid, he looked so nervous and concerned. “You know the Doctor?”

“I…we were traveling buddies. Way back.” 

“Wow, that’s neat.” Alonso continued hurriedly. “That we both knew him, and all. Just…what are the odds?”

Jack pressed his lips together. His head drooped, and he stared at the ground: ratty carpet, stained over the years and never cleaned properly. He…he cleaned his carpet every other year. He had to explain it once when Jack had showed up unexpectedly and been shoved out immediately, complaints of boots and explanations of wet carpet ringing in his ears. Fuck. It _still_ hurt, to remember. 

“Are you…are you alright?”

Jack swiveled his head up, glancing at Alonso. Geeze, this kid. He was young. Really young. “How old are you?”

Alonso looked almost offended at the question. “I’ll be 27.”* 

Fuck. The same age? And those eyes…blue…

The coincidences were too much. Jack stood up. “What do you say we grab something to eat?” 

“I…” 

Jack arched an eyebrow. “What, you got somewhere better to be?” 

Alonso grinned. “No. Guess not.” 

“Good. Then we’ll grab some food.” Jack glanced around the small hotel room. “Now…” he slapped his hands together, rubbing them. “Help me find my trousers.”

**

They were sitting in a cheap diner. Jack was munching on the first thing he had glanced at on the menu; all the food from these places was pretty much the same fare: greasy, but relatively edible, and usually full of protein. Alonso had been more discerning about his choice of food. Probably why he was so skinny. Of course, _he_ had been discerning about his food. Hadn’t stopped him from putting on some weight recently. “Sex weight,” Jack had called it once, when they were lying in bed. Ianto had complained when Jack had grabbed at his love handles during sex. Jack had made sure that Ianto appreciated his few extra pounds, that night.

Jack tossed down his food. Couldn’t go two fucking seconds without…

“So, did you want to know something specific?”

Jack glanced over at the young man. He was sipping his drink from a straw and looking all the younger for it. “Sure,” Jack leaned back into his seat. “Tell me what happened with the Doctor.”

So Alonso told him. Told him about the Titanic, and being shot, and Max Capricorn’s mad plans. How the Doctor had saved them all (of course. When did he not? Well, except…) and how he had managed to recharge the ship’s engines and pilot them safely back into space. “He saved us. He was magnificent. I mean, I had never seen…”

Jack waved a hand. “Yeah, he’s amazing. He saves everyone. I know.” His sharp tone must have been obvious, because Alonso glanced down at his food nervously.

“You don’t…you and the Doctor…”

Oh. _Oh_. Jack laughed. “No! No. We…we never…” Jack gestured with his fingers, then laughed again. “Oh, no. If he were here, he’d…no. The Doctor’s not like that. I mean…” Jack paused, collecting his thoughts. “He’s a Timelord. So, when it comes to us humans, he has a tendency to…” Jack waved a hand vaguely, trying to figure out how to put it. “Ignore us. Not _ignore_ , just…not get that involved. After all, we all die on him in the end.” Fuck. Well, there it was again. If he still had the stopwatch he could time it: how long could he go without thinking of him. Then again, if he had the stopwatch, it’d be a constant reminder. Not that everything else wasn’t.

“You…did he do something, to you? I mean, no offense,” Alonso smiled nervously, “but you seem pretty upset. Over something.”

“It’s what he didn’t do.” Jack stared down at his plate. He just wanted to…he wanted to scream, and rant, and break things… “He and I traveled together. A long time back.” Jack paused. “Then he abandoned me. I spent a long time stuck on Earth, waiting for him to come back. Eventually he did, and I went back to him.” Jack paused. Alonso didn’t need to know everything. Just the basics. “But, after a little while, I left him. I had carved out a place for myself on Earth; I found…”

“You lost someone.” Jack shrugged, avoiding eye contact by looking out the diner window. Outside, a veritable kaleidoscope of alien life wandered past. All of them, living their lives, working, loving, dying…and they didn’t even know about Earth. About everything that happened.

“Yeah.” It shouldn’t still _hurt_ , like it was still fresh and raw - not after months. No one else he had ever…he had never been this upset, for this long. Then again, he had always left before anything had happened. But he hadn’t been ready to leave him. He…they deserved more _time_. “He…we worked together. We neutralized any alien threat on Earth – that was our job. Then one day, a threat came that…”

“You couldn’t neutralize.” Jack shrugged one shoulder, still staring out the window. This Alonso kid was alright. Understanding, gentle, kind. Figures the Doctor would find him.

“He died. And the Doctor wasn’t there.”

The two men sat in silence for a moment. A gang of Judoon stomped past the window, on their way to stop some crime. 

“If he’s…” Jack waited for Alonso to go on. “If he can travel through time, why didn’t he change it?”

Jack sighed. “Some events are fixed. You can’t change them, because it would re-write history too much. I guess…I guess this was one of those.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Alonso frown. “But…I mean, maybe Earth meeting the aliens was important, so the Doctor couldn’t change that. But, your…”

“Ianto. His name was Ianto.”

“But, Ianto shouldn’t be that important, right? I mean, why couldn’t the Doctor just save him? If you two used to travel together…”

A harsh laugh escaped Jack’s mouth before he could stop it. “He even owed me one. I mean, we both owed Martha, so he paid her back, but he owed me for the elevator shaft…and the vortex manipulator…and the Daleks…and the year I had to spend on the _Valiant_ …and I blew up the paradox machine, even!”

Jack stopped himself. He could go for a long time if he let himself get started. “I guess Ianto’s death _was_ that important. I don’t know why, but it must be.”

Another pause. Alonso’s hand twitched on the table, looking like he wanted to lay it over Jack’s in comfort. “How…if you don’t mind…”

Jack took a breath. “There was this alien race; we called them the 456, we never knew their real name.” Otherwise Jack would have tracked them down to their home planet long ago and destroyed every last one of them. “Years ago they made a deal with Earth: a dozen children, in exchange for an antivirus. We agreed. But then they came back.” Jack paused, taking a drink. “They wanted millions of kids this time. Ianto and I…we went in…” It was so _stupid_. Why had he let Ianto come with him? But…he had insisted…he wanted to be by Jack’s side…he was making him a better man…helping Jack make up for some of those past mistakes…

“Sorry, Jack…” Jack waved away Alonso’s concern, taking a moment to run a hand over his face. He had replayed that day over and over again in his mind, thinking of the thousands of ways he could have done it different, of how he could have lived…

“We confronted them, Ianto and I. They released a virus into the building we were in. Ianto…” Fuck. He was choking up for real now. “He died. In my arms…” Jack stood up abruptly. “Just…gimme a minute…”

He rushed to the bathroom, ignoring the concerned looks from Alonso. He locked the door behind him and sank against it, disregarding the dirt and grime all over the bathroom. Ianto. Oh, Ianto. It shouldn’t hurt this much, he shouldn’t matter so much to Jack…but he did. Jack didn’t know when it had happened, when Ianto had become the most important thing in his life, the thing keeping him together. He had been fine, all those years before, all those loves before. But then Ianto came into his life – _forced his way in_ ; a mixture of a sob and a laugh bubbled out of Jack at the memory – and he had somehow gotten attached, somehow…

He had fallen in love. It was stupid, and it was cliché, but…but _Ianto_.

Jack pushed himself to his feet. Wiping the back of his hand across his eyes, he stumbled to the sink and turned the faucet on. He splashed some of the cool water onto his face, then looked up at his reflection. His eyes were still red. Oh, well. Not the time to be worried about vanity.

He dried his face and went back out into the noise and bustle of the diner. Alonso was staring down at his food, poking it with his spork. “Sorry. Just…”

Alonso’s head jolted up and he nodded vigorously. “No, I understand. It’s alright.”

Jack slid back into the booth and took a bite from his food. He chewed methodically, then took a long drink of water. All the while Alonso just stared at him, waiting semi-patiently. The leg Jack could feel jiggling under the table ruined the façade of calm. “Sorry. The 456 killed him, and several hundred others, with a virus. The next day we defeated them, and they left Earth.”

“This might seem a bit daft, but…”

Jack sighed. Here it came. The inevitable “how did you survive” question. He was sick of making up excuses about it. He opened his mouth to preempt it with some standard explanation 51st century vaccinations.

“Did they use the children to speak?” 

Jack’s head shot up. “What? How did you…?”

Alonso blinked. “Well, I mean, I think I know who your aliens are. They’re in the solar system right next to my home world. I mean, if they’re the same ones…”

Jack practically leapt across the table, grabbing for Alonso’s shoulder. “Take me there. You have to take me to them.”

Alonso leaned backward in his seat, eyes wide. “I…okay…fine. Just, calm down.”

He knew. He _knew_. The Doctor _knew_ where Alonso was from, he must have. That’s why he hooked them up. He could…he could find them. He could find the 456. He could get revenge. A niggling voice in the back of Jack’s mind told him that the Doctor wasn’t exactly the vengeful type (not most of the time), and that it didn’t make sense that he would want Jack to do this. But that had to be it. That had to be why the Doctor had given him the note. So Alonso could lead him to the 456, and he could hunt them down, and kill them. All of them. 

“How soon can you leave?”

Alonso shrugged. “I’m not really doing anything. But, I don’t have a lot of money. I can’t afford…”

Jack waved a hand. “I’ll take care of it.” His fingers drummed on the sticky table. “We’ll leave on the first transport out tomorrow morning. Grab whatever luggage you’ve got and swing by my room later. You remember where it is?”

Alonso paused, then blushed. “No, not…I wasn’t thinking about…”

Jack slipped a keycard across the table. “Here, it has the room number on there. We’re traveling light, so just bring a few changes of clothes and some necessities.” 

As he threw down a few credits for the meal and stood, Jack gave Alonso an once-over. He smiled reassuringly upon seeing the overwhelmed expression on his face, and winked. “Bring the hat.” 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alonso and Jack formulate a plan of action against the 456 home world.

That night, Jack and Alonso sat in his room, huddled around a small, portable display. Alonso was telling Jack what he knew of the 456 – or, Iucunds, as they were apparently called – and showing him their history on the display. “They’re on the Cygnus arm of the Milky Way, out here,” Alonso pointed at a part of the display, and it glowed for a second, before zooming in on the region he indicated. “Both of our home planets are in the M39 cluster, over here…” again, Alonso indicated an area and the display zoomed in. Jack studied the entire thing intently. “Their star is this one, here: Iucundia. My home star is this one: Regis.” 

Jack gently pried the display from Alonso’s hands and zoomed out a little. “I’ve been near here before, I think…” he frowned. Some niggling memory was just touching at the tip of his mind. “Is there anything else prominent in that area?”

“I…not really. It’s kind of the back-end of beyond, right now.” 

Suddenly Jack zoomed out again. Oh, right. He knew why he recognized it. A few thousand years from now, the Time Agency would send him there for training. It wasn’t where they were permanently stationed, which is why he didn’t recognize it at first. The M39 cluster was where they had a small training camp. Shit, it was where he had met John. 

“Never mind. Here.” Jack handed the telescreen back to Alonso. “What else do you know about them?”

“Well, they try that children thing on a lot of planets. They tried it on ours, centuries ago. There was a whole war over it. We came to some sort of truce…” Alonso thought for a moment, then glanced over at Jack sheepishly. “Sorry, I never really paid too much attention in history classes.” He turned back to the screen. “But then they didn’t bother us again. I guess they kept snatching up kids, from different planets.”

“And then they came to Earth.”

Jack saw Alonso hesitate out of the corner of his eye. “I…”

He shrugged. “So, how do we beat them? What’s their weakness?”

The display flickered as Alonso’s fingers swept over the surface. “Well, their atmosphere is a mixture of Nitrous Chloride, Hydrogen Chloride, Nitrogen, Fluoride, Hydrogen Cyanide…”

“Okay, so bringing our own oxygen is a must. Got it.”

“Then they have basic biology: squishy bodies, if they get stabbed or shot they’ll probably die, that sort of thing. Their most vital organ is here,” Alonso pointed at the image of an Iucund, toward the middle of the torso region, “but I don’t expect you’d want to go around and kill every one of them by hand.”

Jack remained silent. If it were at all feasible, he would. He would go to every single 456 – Iucund – and tell them exactly why he was killing them. Technically, he had all the time in the world: he _could_ do it. But it was probably a touch impractical. Still, it felt good to imagine it, to picture ripping out the heart (or whatever they had) of every individual on the planet, to picturing torturing them individually for what they did to him, to Ianto…

Jack heard Alonso cough, and he turned back to him. “Sorry. Got districted.”

Next to him, Alonso nodded. “I was just saying, their atmosphere isn’t very combustible. _But_ , it’s also carefully controlled: apparently, as they grew more technologically advanced, they needed more and more advanced climate and atmosphere controls to maintain their atmosphere and expel waste. But look,” Alonso tapped on the picture of the planet, and it zoomed in to what appeared to be a large, capital city. “Here’s where they have this big machine that keeps their atmosphere the exact mixture they need to survive. If you destroy the machine…”

“They die. All of them.” Jack nodded. He stared at the flickering image on the screen. So it was that simple. Get down to the planet, blow up their atmosphere control. And they would die.

Blinking, Jack shook himself from his reverie. “That’s good work, Alonso.”

Next to him, Alonso beamed, shifting happily on the bed. “It’s no trouble. Just, trying to help.” 

Absently, Jack patted Alonso’s leg. “Alright. So where do we go first? We need to start stocking up on supplies for this. What’s your home planet like? Industrialized, advanced, what?”

His hands moved over the screen briefly, and a new planet appeared: Regis 3. It was Earth-like: blue oceans, brown and green land masses, clouds dotting the atmosphere. The dark side in the picture was more lit up than Earth was in the 21st century – an indicator of a more technologically advanced world. Alonso was leading Jack through the basics.

“We’re a Class 7 planet, so we’re plenty advanced. Space-faring, all that. If you want, we could land there and get our supplies, rent a ship, whatever you want. Anything you need, we should be able to get there.”

Jack nodded. “Alright. So we’ll hop over to the transport center tomorrow morning, book the first flight going that direction. Sound good?”

Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw Alonso nod, then shift awkwardly. “So, I mean…we’ve got a few hours ‘til the flight, yeah?”

For a moment Jack continued to look at the display screen, until what Alonso was saying sunk in. He turned to him, cheesy grin in place. “Oh, yeah. Guess we do. I guess you have some thoughts on how we should spend the time?”

“I thought you were psychic?”

Jack grinned. “Right. Well, tell me if I’m on the right track…” Jack leaned forward and kissed Alonso, pushing him back on the bed. 

An hour later, Jack was sitting in a chair in his hotel room. Alonso was sleeping on the bed, flush just starting to leave his face. Jack had a drink in his hand – a _real_ drink, though it did next to nothing for him – and was sipping it. He watched the young man sleeping peacefully, chest lifting and falling with each breath.

Iucunds. So that was the name of the 456. The Iucunds. Somehow they seemed less menacing, with a name to go with them instead of a number. The plan seemed so simple: get a ship, get some tools, sneak onto the planet, and destroy the atmosphere control. Then he would have his revenge.

The thought he had so successfully ignored earlier came back, persistent and unyielding. Why would the Doctor want him to get revenge? The Doctor generally didn’t encourage things like revenge. Except, of course, when it came to the Daleks.

Well maybe that was it. Maybe the Doctor knew something Jack didn’t: like the 456 would start working with the Daleks, or help develop the Dalek empire, or create some sort of biological weapon for them on commission. Maybe the Doctor just saw the 456 on the same level of evil with the Daleks: a race with no redeeming qualities, a race intent on death, a race that needed to be destroyed. 

So what was Jack, then? Doing the Doctor’s dirty work? That didn’t seem right, either. Whenever the Daleks needed to be destroyed, the Doctor always tried to take care of it himself, only using his companions as a last resort. And if the 456 were just sitting there, vulnerable, on their home planet…didn’t seem like a situation where the Doctor needed to resort to using Jack. 

Then what was going on? Why had the Doctor introduced them? It wasn’t just to get Jack laid; the Doctor knew that Jack didn’t exactly need his help in that department. Plus the Doctor had never really approved of Jack’s…philandering. Was it an apology? A token? That was kind of harsh to Alonso. Was he…Jack’s eyes roamed the figure on the bed…was he supposed to act as a replacement?

That could be it. There were a lot of similarities: the age, the eyes, the height, the eager willingness to help…but that was just it. That’s where they were so different. Ianto helped Jack for himself: at first because he was using Jack to save Lisa, and then because they started screwing around. Ianto was always Jack’s right-hand-man because that was what Ianto wanted, because being around Jack made him happy. He got something out of it. This kid…it was more just a general attitude of being ready to serve, to help out. Jack frowned to himself. It sounded stupid to admit it, even to himself, but he liked Ianto because he was more selfish. 

Jack rubbed his forehead. This was getting ridiculous. He was trying to fathom the motivations of the Doctor – as if such an insane thing were possible. On top of that, he was trying to justify loving Ianto over Alonso: the man he had spent years with, versus some kid he had just met. Of course he cared more for Ianto, preferred him. Jack groaned. He needed to get out; he needed a distraction.

As silently as he could, Jack slipped past Alonso and out of the room. He trolled the bars until the early morning, looking for someone to forget himself in. Just before dawn he slipped back into his room. Alonso was still sleeping soundly in his bed: one arm and one leg hanging off the edge, jaw slack and open in sleep. Jack smiled softly as he looked down at him, then reached a hand out to shake him awake. “Hey,” Jack stared down at a confused Alonso, blinking sleep from his eyes. “Time to go.”  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Alonso get on the ship, Jack gathers supplies, sex.

As they stepped out into the spaceport early that morning, Jack breathed deep. That smell. The distinctly alive smell of bustle and crazy insanity that permeated every spaceport, mixed with the mechanical smells of ship exhausts and synthetic lubricants and heat. Made him almost feel alive again. Almost feel a part of the world. Almost.

“There’s a transport over there for Regis.” Alonso’s voice shook Jack out of his reverie. “It leaves in an hour…four day flight.” 

Jack shrugged his backpack on his shoulders, fidgeting. “Sounds fine. Let’s go get on it.” The two men took off toward the direction of the transport Alonso pointed out. Jack let Alonso lead the way for now, although he seemed somewhat reluctant to be in the lead. Every once in a while he would glance back over his shoulder at Jack, as if he were checking to see if he was still there. Jack sighed. Right now, all the cute uniforms in the world weren’t helping endear him to Jack. 

            He flashed Alonso a reassuring smile the fifth or sixth time he turned around. Ianto was always good at this: reassuring the outsiders, taking care of the transportation and tickets and plotting routes. Ianto should be here with him. Jack almost laughed as he saw a brood of Adipose children wobble past him. Ianto would have loved to see this; he would be holding Jack’s hand and eagerly pointing out the new sights, the new species, asking Jack questions about it all. 

            Jack drew a shaky breath. He was going to get revenge for Ianto. He was going to kill all of the 456 – Iucunds, he reminded himself – and avenge him. That would have to be good enough. Gwen’s words floated back to him, across time: _There’s nothing we can do_. 

            As they approached the docking bay of the ship, Alonso stopped. “I don’t…”

            “I know, I got it. We’re going to Regis 3?”

            Alonso nodded. Jack turned to the ticket master, plastering his ten-gigawatt smile onto his face. “Hey, gorgeous.” The ticket master immediately blushed, smiling back broadly at Jack. “Looking to buy two tickets off-world, to Regis 3. We at the right place?”

            “Yes, absolutely. Will this be for two rooms or…” the man broke off, staring at Alonso with a hint of envy. 

            Jack turned to Alonso. “What do you think, Alonso? Can you stand my company for four days?”

            Alonso’s eyes widened slightly, and then he grinned. Jack genuinely smiled back. Alonso’s expression was a mix of lust and boyish eagerness. Cute. “Well, if you can stand me.”

            Jack nodded thoughtfully, looking Alonso up and down. “Good idea. Standing. Haven’t tried that with you yet.” Alonso’s grin widened, lust overtaking the boyish look. Jack turned back to the ticket master, who was watching the conversation with open want. “One room, then. And you got any suites? Might as well travel in style.” 

            Jack saw Alonso about to protest, and cut him off without turning around. “Don’t worry, I’ve got the money. I’m doing this for me, anyway. Don’t feel like slumming it, right now.”

            They paid the ticket master, Jack giving him one last wink before they climbed on board. Jack lead the way to their room, glancing down at the holographic map printed on their tickets occasionally. When Jack opened the door, Alonso audibly gasped behind him. Jack had to admit, the room was pretty swank. A huge atrium, with all the modern conveniences like visiscreens, entertainment systems, and a fabulous, fully-stocked bar. Jack shucked his rucksack as he stepped into the cabin. Past the atrium was the bedroom, which was really…under normal circumstances, Jack would have thrown whoever he was with down right there, and enjoyed all the options available. Toys and lotions and that _bed_ – big enough for quite the party, and actually…Jack pushed down on it, allowing himself a small grin. Water bed. Or, something that moved like water. 

            He had almost forgotten that Alonso was with him, until the man snuck up behind him and touched a hand to his arm. “Nice bed.”

            Jack nodded noncommittally. He would have to pick up some supplies for their trip. Gas masks, weapons, some supplies so he could rig up whatever explosives he would need to…He moved past Alonso, thinking to himself.

            “You know, we have a few hours before dinner…”

            Jack waved over his shoulder. “I know, don’t worry. I’ll be back before then. Just got to see some men about some supplies.” He snatched up his rucksack on his way out the door, not bothering to look back. “You can do whatever, I’ll see you in a bit.”

            Jack didn’t see the look of disappointment that was so clearly painted across Alonso’s face as pushed through the door and let it swing shut behind him. 

**

            Two hours later, Jack snuck back into his room, lugging two duffle bags and one hypercube in his hands. As he struggled with his packages and tried to open the door, Jack vaguely wondered why he didn’t just put the two duffle bags inside the hypercube. Huh. The door finally swung open and he stopped wondering about it, opting to throw the bags and cube in one corner of the atrium, rucksack in the other. 

            “Jack? Is that you?” 

            Jack stifled a small groan. Right. He had almost forgotten about the kid. “Yeah. Told you I’d be back before dinner.” Jack toed off his boots as he walked through the atrium into the bedroom. He shucked his coat on a chair as he went. Didn’t have Ianto anymore to take care of it, damn thing was getting holes. Maybe he’d get rid of it…but he couldn’t do that. Ianto loved the coat. “When do you want to…oh.”

            Jack stopped just inside the entrance to the bedroom. Alonso was lying on the bed, naked, stroking his erect cock lightly. He grinned up at Jack. For a moment Jack stood there, running a hand through his hair and smiling ruefully. Finally he put his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow. “Right, I _did_ say we hadn’t done it standing up…Wanna give that a try?”

            Alonso paused in his ministrations and frowned. “Well, I was thinking, we have this nice bed…thought we might give it a test run?”

            Jack sighed, but started to walk over to the bed, sliding his braces off his shoulders as he did. He nodded to Alonso. “Turn over.” 

            Before him, Alonso eagerly complied, rolling over on the bed and wiggling his arse around in the air. Jack slid a hand over the smooth skin, sighing slightly. He yanked down his trousers, not bothering to remove his shirt. As he walked on his knees on the bed, he grimaced at the feel of the water – or whatever it was – sloshing around beneath them. He had tried to get Ianto to get a waterbed, instead of that ratty old mattress he had. The springs were shot in it, wasn’t as much fun as…

            Alonso undulated his hips on the bed, pressing back against Jack’s slowly-hardening cock. “Come on, Jack…”

            Playfully Jack smacked the side of his thigh. “Alright, impatient. Grab some oils or lube or whatever they’ve got for us.” While Alonso leaned forward and was scrambling through the nightstand, Jack stroked himself to full arousal. Alonso passed back some lube and Jack glanced at it. Oh, this was some good stuff: self-warming, and increased sensation. They really went all-out in the suites. He smeared some onto his fingers and inserted one into Alonso without preamble. 

            Immediately Alonso responded, moaning and thrusting backwards. Jack considered the man beneath him as he cursorily prepared him. Responsive, fit, gorgeously perk bum: everything he could ask for. He thrust another finger in, scissoring them lazily. Well, almost everything. He was shorter than…he was shorter. Not that Jack generally discriminated against height; he had just…grown accustomed, a bit. Wasn’t used to the difference, yet. Alonso had lifted himself onto one arm and was stroking himself with the other. Responsive: he had to give him that.

            “You ready?” Jack thrust three fingers in, stretching them and estimating the looseness inside. 

            “Oh, yes. Jack, please…”

            Jack took the container and spread some lube onto himself, eyes fluttering closed at the sensation. Oh yeah. Definitely the good stuff. It tingled as it warmed him, magnifying the feel of his hand. He tossed the bottle over the side of the bed. For a brief moment his eyes flickered over at it, even as he lined himself up with Alonso. _He_ never liked him to make a mess, he would have told him to pick it up, except when he was too far gone, when Jack purposefully teased him for so long that his naturally neat proclivities were the farthest thing from his mind…but he couldn’t think about that now. Not when he had Alonso writhing and eager – _so eager_ – beneath him. 

            Taking a breath, Jack pushed himself in. So tight, so warm…Jack closed his eyes and breathed deep, pausing once he was fully buried inside. Without asking, Jack pulled almost out and then pushed back in. Alonso moaned beneath him, hand clutching at the sheets while the other one fisted himself furiously. Jack set a brutal pace, holding tight to Alonso’s hips as he thrust in quickly over and over. Alonso moaned again. He shifted his weight to his shoulders, then reached his now free hand back to clutch at Jack. Jack slapped his hand away, thrusting forward harshly for emphasis. 

            “Almost…” Jack muttered, then thrust forward one last time. His back arched, tendons in his neck going taut as he released himself inside Alonso. He panted, reaching a hand up to wipe away the sweat beading on his brow. He pulled out and started off the bed. 

            Before he could grab for his trousers, Alonso’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. “Jack…” Alonso’s eyes were glazed and happy, and Jack noted that he had come. Good. But then Alonso started to pull him down for a kiss, eyes fluttering closed. Violently Jack ripped his wrist out of Alonso’s grasp and shoved him back on the bed. “I’m going to take a shower. _Alone_. Find out where dinner is.”

            “But…”

            But Jack wasn’t looking at him. He had already grabbed his trousers off the floor and stormed into the bathroom, pressing the contact so the door slid shut behind him.    
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack reminisces about Ianto, opens up a bit to Alonso, then pulls right back.

            That night, Jack sat naked in the atrium, rummaging through his supplies, trying to put them into some sort of cohesive order. He could faintly hear Alonso snoring in the bedroom behind him, and so he worked quietly: best to keep it that way. Carefully he pulled out the combustible materials he had bought: liquids, powders, gases. He wasn’t sure exactly what he would need once down planet side, so he had just got it all. Next was the protective equipment: gasmasks, hazmat suits, the like. He slipped the gasmask on and turned to look toward Alonso, still sleeping on the bed. “Are you my mummy?” He grinned beneath the mask, but Alonso didn’t stir, so he took it off and set it aside with the other equipment. Did his best not to think about how those masks could have come in handy...

            Next came the miscellaneous: food, ropes, wires, all that random stuff which he never knew if it might be useful or not. Finally his two duffle bags were empty. He smoothed them down and rolled them up, tying them shut with their own straps. He looked at the neat piles he had laid out. All they needed from Regis was small ship, a star-hopper, to get them to Iucundia. 

            Ianto would have made a list. He liked lists. Said it made him calm, gave him something to have control over, to cling to, amidst the insanity and disorderliness that was life at Torchwood. Jack scrubbed at his face. He didn’t believe it could still _hurt_ so much, after so many months. Months were just a drop in the bucket for him, really. It could take years, and it would still just be a drop in the bucket. He just wanted it to stop hurting. But he didn’t, at the same time: didn’t want to forget Ianto, didn’t want to stop loving him. 

            He swallowed quickly. That was his cue: dwelling on Ianto meant it was time for a change in scenery. Moving quickly he bundled the different piles together, then stuffed them all into the hypercube. There. Sorted. Jack tossed the cube into his backpack, snatching his keycard out of it at the same time. With one last backward glance toward the bedroom, Jack left the suite. Time to find some willing bodies to lose himself in.

            **

            Just before dawn (or what they pretended was dawn on the ship) Jack stumbled through the hallways back to his bedroom. He smacked his lips sullenly, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Tentacles: always fun at the time, always disconcerting afterwards. He really needed to write that book…

            He stumbled through the door, tossing his keycard on his backpack in the corner. Shower. Shower first, then grab breakfast.

            Oh. Right.

            Jack stopped in the doorway between the atrium and the bedroom. He had nearly forgotten about Alonso. Sighing, he made his way over to the bed, reaching a hand down to tap at him. “Hey.”

            Alonso blinked sleep from his eyes, gazing up at Jack with a fuzzy sort of expression on his face. He squinted for a moment, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. He snuffled slightly, then yawned. “Hm?”

            “Morning.” Jack started to head off to the shower. Alonso reached tiredly for his wrist, and even though he didn’t quite manage to grab it, Jack stopped and turned. “Yeah?”

            “You showering?”

            Jack nodded, watching Alonso roll over onto his back and prop himself up onto his elbows. A wicked grin crossed Alonso’s face, but Jack just shook his head. “Showering alone. Sorry. Just tired.” Jack watched as Alonso’s face fell, but then he shrugged, expression reverting to its previous sleepy contentment. 

            “’S alright. Just a thought. Hey, you wait for me after the shower? We can maybe grab breakfast together.”

            Jack just nodded, walking to the bathroom. He didn’t really care either way. Sometimes he needed the company, like last night, to keep his mind off things. Sometimes he’d just rather be alone – also like last night. And sometimes…sometimes he just didn’t care. Right now, he didn’t care. “Be out in ten.”

            Jack shut the door, flipped on the shower, and lost himself in steam and heat. 

**

            Jack stared down at the food in the buffet line. He wondered if he could ever starve to death. What would happen? Would his healing ability kick in before that even happened? It’s not like his body needed any sustenance to grow back from being blown up. So maybe he couldn’t starve to death. Great. One more way to not die. 

            “Jack? You alright?” 

            Jack started, looking up at Alonso like he had just woke up. “Oh. Fine. Just trying to figure out what to eat.”

            Alonso apparently took this as an invitation to play gourmet. “Well, that blue stuff there is giselnef. It’s good. Like a meat bready sauce thing. And the string stuff is narf. Cheesy, floury thing. And this…”

            Alonso and Jack had reached the beverage center. “ _This_ is coffee. It’s like this yummy, sort of bitter water. And it gives you an energy boost.”

            Jack had stopped listening at the word coffee. He grabbed a glass of water and stormed off to a table, stopping himself just short of throwing his plastic plate down. Across from him, Alonso slid in cautiously, looking nervous. Jack sighed, glancing up. No, he wasn’t _nervous_. Just worried. Concerned.

            “Jack?”

            It shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise, really. Aliens were always coming to Earth, stealing stuff they liked. The thing Alonso had called narf was basic macaroni and cheese. Still, to see _coffee_ out here, of all things.

            Jack scrubbed at his face and sat up straighter. “Sorry, sorry. Coffee’s from Earth, and he…my…” Damn it. Why hadn’t they put a label on it? Because Jack hated labels. But it would be so much easier, right now. Instead of having to say his name.

            “Ianto?” Alonso was cautious, quiet. Jack couldn’t really blame him, with the way he’d been acting.

            “Yeah.” Jack let out a long breath. “He made coffee. Lots. And it was really good.” Jack’s lips twitched at the memory. “Orgasmic, really.” Jack fell silent again, staring down at the food. After a moment, Alonso spoke.

            “You know, maybe if you talked about it – about him – it might help?”

            Jack shrugged one shoulder, feeling a bit like a petulant child. Did he really want to talk to this kid, this random, almost-stranger, about _him_? Then again, he wasn’t random. The Doctor had hooked them up, for whatever reason. “What do you want to know?”

            Alonso looked surprised, but quickly recovered. “Well, um, how’d you meet?”

            Jack laughed. “Weevil hunting.”

            “Weevil hunting?”

            “Yeah it’s this…” Jack sighed. Had to explain everything. “It’s this alien animal thing. Anyway, we sedate them when they leave the sewers and put them back. I had one attacking me…”

            _“I had it under control.”_

            _“Think so? Looked pretty vicious.”_

            Jack grinned. “He came in, saved the day. Turns out, he was looking for a job.”

            Alonso broke in. “At the, uh, alien protection place?”

            At that, Jack actually laughed. A full, genuine laugh. “I had never heard it called that…” Alonso practically beamed at him, and Jack shook his head ruefully. “Sure, sure. Though we just called it ‘Torchwood’.”

            “So then you hired him…” Alonso prompted.

            “No. No, actually. He had to come back two more times before I did. Second time he made his coffee,” Jack nodded at the cup in front of Alonso, “which I’m sure is parsecs ahead in taste from whatever imitation you’re drinking there.”

            _“Coffee?”_

            _…_

            _“Wow.”_

            “But I still rejected him, until…” Jack paused for dramatic effect. Sure enough, Alonso leaned forward slightly.

            “Until?”

            “Until he helped me catch a pteranodon. By distracting it with chocolate.” 

            _“Way too dangerous.”_

            _“No, I’ve got a secret weapon. Chocolate. Preferably dark.”_

            “A…a what?”

            Jack tried to gesture and indicate the shape of Mwyfawny. “It’s a dinosaur; an extinct animal on Earth. It’s like this big bird, but a reptile, with these flapping…wings…” Jack sighed, putting his arms back down. “I fell on top of him.” Too bad about Lisa. If it wasn’t for her, they might have started things up so much earlier – could have had more time together.

            “And so that started…all of that?”

            Jack smiled tightly at Alonso, reaching a hand across the table to cover his. The kid was nice, he really was. And he was trying. “Yeah.”

            They held each other’s gaze for a second. Jack tried to figure out exactly what it was the Doctor had planned for this kid. But then the moment passed, and Jack took his hand away from Alonso’s. “I’ve got some more errands to run today. I’ll catch up with you later tonight?”

            Alonso nodded, obviously trying not to let the disappointment show on his face. “Sure. I’ll just…find something to do.”

            Jack nodded absently, already grabbing his tray and getting up to leave. He had some more errands to run. Wanted to try and get his hands on a neutron gun, just in case. Would be hard to find, and damn expensive, but he’d feel a lot better with one at hand. He wandered out of the cafeteria, depositing his tray at a receptacle. He didn’t even hear Alonso’s parting words. 

            “I’ll wait up.”

**

A day and a half later, Jack threw open the door to his suite. _Yes_. He had found _two_ neutron guns. Not only that, but he had got them at a bargain. Had to sleep with a whole traveling party of Raffels, which was what took so long, but he had done it. And it’s not like the experience had been entirely unpleasant for him, either.

Oh. Right. Alonso. Jack winced as the upset young man stormed out from the bedroom to meet him in the atrium. He kept forgetting he was traveling with somebody. Still wasn’t used to the idea. “Where have you been?”

“Hey, hey, listen.” Jack held out his hands calmingly automatically, before he realized he didn’t even need to. Alonso wasn’t _angry_ , just worried. Almost scared. 

“Where have you been? I thought…you said you’d be back last night, and I didn’t know where you were. Thought you had gotten into some sort of trouble.”

“No, no, it’s alright. Shh.” Jack tossed the hypercube in the corner of the atrium and grabbed Alonso, hugging him close. “Sorry. Found something I was looking for, just took a little longer to negotiate than I thought it would. Time got away from me.”

Against his chest, Jack felt Alonso suck in a shaky breath. “Sorry. Just got worried. Was gonna start a search, if I hadn’t heard from you by tomorrow morning.”

Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The kid was just concerned. He was trying to look out for him. It was practically endearing – or so Jack tried to convince himself. “Well I’m here now. Come on. You started to get packed up yet?”

Alonso pulled away from Jack, nodding. “Yeah, all set for the morning.” He nodded his head in the direction of a backpack and duffle in the corner. Jack nodded approvingly. “Hey, Jack?”

Jack had already begun to mosey into the bedroom, shucking various articles of clothing – boots, braces, shirt – as he went. “Yeah?”

He could hear Alonso treading softly behind him, following him into the bedroom. “How long’ll we be planetside on Regis? I mean, we got to get some supplies, right? I was just thinking, if it was going to be a little bit, I could, you know, show you around…”

Jack shook his head, not noticing the hopeful note in Alonso’s voice. He was busy clicking at his wrist strap, making sure that it wasn’t picking up any weird signals from the future Time Agency. The closer they got to Regis, the more nervous he got that some freak event might occur. It wasn’t likely, but you could never be too sure with the Agency.

“No, I got everything we needed on ship. All we need to do now is get a little star-hopper. We don’t even need to leave the docks.” No interference from the future. Good. Didn’t need a rogue flurry of Rift activity or a trainee flying off course to interfere with his plans. 

“Oh. Well, maybe after we’re done, we could stay on Regis a bit. I could show you around? Might be fun to play tourist, for a bit.”

Jack started to tune in what Alonso was saying, and heard the hopefulness in the words. He grunted as noncommittally as he could, but he knew he couldn’t do what Alonso wanted him to. He wasn’t going to stay around: “play tourist” with him. As soon as this was done – as soon as he exacted Ianto’s revenge – his purpose with Alonso was fulfilled. Done. Finished. It was a good run, and the boy could be fun, if not a little overeager. But he didn’t need him hanging around anymore.

“Cool.” Jack was half-way stripped down for bed by the time that he realized Alonso was clearing his throat significantly behind him, and shifting from foot to foot. Jack turned, pants the only thing still on. 

“Yeah?” Jack could already tell what Alonso wanted. The growing bulge in the front of his trousers and flush high on his cheeks told him all he needed to know. But he figured he might as well make the kid ask for it. 

For a moment, Alonso continued to look awkward. Then he jutted out his jaw and looked Jack up and down. “Wanna have a shag? Last night on the ship, and all?”

Jack sighed and grinned. “Well, I guess I can manage.”

Alonso didn’t need any further instruction. He bounded forward, crushing Jack to the back wall and kissing him soundly. For a moment, Jack kissed back, eyes closed and tongue thrusting desperately into Alonso’s mouth. 

_Coffee and pastries and just a hint of something else, that Ianto-y goodness…_

_ Ianto shoved him against the wall of the office and they kept kissing, Jack losing himself in Ianto’s tongue, forced into his mouth and exploring every nook… _

Jack tried harder. Gripped the back of Alonso’s head with one hand, yanked his hips forward with the other. He pulled back for a moment, both men gasping for air before diving back in for more, teeth clinking together. Jack pulled the scent of Alonso into his lungs: clean, but somewhat musky, almost pre-ripe smelling…

_Ianto’s scent filled his lungs as he splayed on top of Jack, sated and exhausted. Jack buried his nose into Ianto’s neck, licking and nipping, but mostly just_ smelling _, just breathing in that dark, heady aroma that was distinctly Ianto’s. He never got to do this; Ianto was always the one buried in_ his _neck, breathing in_ his _scent. Jack reveled in the opportunity that this role reversal offered._

Panting, Jack shoved Alonso off. “Wait, wait.”

Alonso stood in front of Jack, panting, eyes dilated, bulge in his trousers full to the point of discomfort. Jack saw all this, took it all in. “Get on the bed.”

Rather than join him, Jack walked over to the side of the room and grabbed a plush chair, pulling it over. Alonso was watching him curiously from the bed. Jack nodded. “Want to try something different. Take off your clothes.”

Alonso’s eyes widened slightly, but he was quick to comply. Had Jack really cared, he might have told Alonso to take his time, to tease him, to do a little dance or show or something. But Jack _didn’t_ care. Soon enough, Alonso was lying on the bed, weeping erection jutting up from his hips. Jack pulled his own erection out of his pants and stroked it slowly. “Touch yourself.”

Alonso’s right hand slid down his body, wrapping around himself and stroking slowly. He brought his left hand up to his mouth and sucked on the fingers, before sliding it down his chest to tweak at his nipples. Jack hummed in approval, timing his strokes with Alonso’s. “Look at me.” Jack’s eyes were half-open as it was, but that was better. He could see the blue in Alonso’s eyes from across the room, but the rest of the face was a little fuzzy. If he tried hard enough, if he squinted…Jack had to stop himself from thrusting faster, stop the name that threatened to spill from his lips. 

“Good. Good. Finger yourself.”

Alonso’s left hand immediately moved from his nipples to his perineum, pressing there for a moment before drifting further back, pressing in. “Jack,” Alonso’s voice was strained, but all Jack could be bothered with is the fact that he had spoken, had ruined the almost-perfect illusion. 

“What?” He didn’t care enough to keep the irritation from his voice.

“Do you mind if I grab the lube?”

Jack stopped stroking himself and moved his hand to his thigh. “Fine. Go ahead. Just hurry up.” 

On the bed, Alonso rolled to his side and scrambled at the nightstand, hand searching for the lube. Jack drummed his fingers on his thigh as he waited. He glanced at his watch, not really caring if Alonso noticed. He just wanted to get this over with, so he could take a shower and double-check their departure plans for tomorrow. If he could secure transport to Iucundia before they even landed, even better.

Alonso had slicked up both hands, and had resumed stroking with his right. His left slipped between his legs, thrusting rhythmically in and out. Normally Jack might ask him to roll over, let him see, get up on his hands and knees…but not now. Now, he needed to see his eyes. “Look at me.” Alonso’s head turned, but he struggled to keep his eyes open. “Open your eyes. Look.”

Alonso’s blue eyes snapped, open, and Jack sighed as he resumed his own stroking. There they were. Blue. Beautiful blue. Jack let his eyes slip further and further closed, until he was just barely seeing out beneath his eyelashes. He could still see the blue. 

“Finish up,” he managed to grunt out, letting himself go and thrusting into his hand. On the bed, Alonso moaned and fisted himself viciously, hand moving between his legs with a sort of violent wantonness. A moment later he came, groaning out Jack’s name.

Jack kept his mouth tightly shut when he followed soon after.

He walked to the bathroom for a wet towel, tossing it at Alonso after he cleaned himself up. The boy looked around for a moment, then seemed to remember what towels were for. As he awkwardly cleaned himself up, Jack slid into bed and curled up on his side. “Make sure you’re finished packing up. Tomorrow we land on Regis.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Alonso buy and christen the star hopper.

            Jack stared at the two ships in front of him. They were nearly identical; both perfectly suited his needs. The one on his right was 500 credits more than the one on his left: it had an escape pod. Jack rubbed the back of his neck and glanced over at Alonso, who was standing to the side, sniffing at a vendor’s wares. Was there any way he could just have the kid program in the coordinates, then leave him behind? It wasn’t like he needed the escape pod, so long as no one else was with him.

            Jack forked over the extra 500 credits and dragged Alonso away from the stand. “Come on. Time to inspect our new star hopper.” Alonso stumbled for a few steps, then straightened up. Jack noted that he didn’t move to extract his arm from Jack’s grasp, so he released it. He wasn’t about to indulge Alonso’s odd attempt at handholding. 

            As Jack tapped at the contact on the side of the star hopper, Alonso held out a fistful of food. “Nuts?”

            Jack couldn’t help himself. He turned back to Alonso with a wink and said “Maybe later.” Alonso grinned widely, and Jack turned back to the controls. “Ha! There!” Jack smirked triumphantly as the door slid open.

            “Didn’t you get the combination from the salesman?”

            Jack paused mid-bound on his way through the cabin doors. “Ah, um. Yeah. Didn’t think of that.” He pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. Right. He _did_ have the lock combination for the ship. “More fun this way, though.”

            He stepped inside, straightening after the short, low-ceilinged entranceway. He nodded thoughtfully as he looked around. Yeah, this would work. It was basically a small, flying, flat. It had a cockpit right in front of him, then off to the left was a kitchen and tiny bedroom, and to the right was another small bedroom and a bathroom. He stuck his head in the bathroom: sonic shower, even. Perfect little personal star hopper. 

            Turning, he found himself standing almost nose-to-nose with Alonso, who was staring around the ship and munching on his nuts. Jack allowed himself another little grin as he watched. Alright, so his libido wasn’t dead – not by a long shot. Ianto couldn’t exactly blame him for that.

            “What do you say? Wanna boot it up?”

            Alonso nodded, swallowing a mouthful of nuts. He was seriously going to have to stop eating those, otherwise Jack would have to throw him down and give him another set of nuts to…yeah. Booting up the ship first, not thinking about that right this moment. Later. 

            Jack turned away and slid into the pilot seat. He could hear Alonso follow him in, then his chair moved slightly as Alonso leaned on it. “Oh, yeah. This’ll do just fine…” Jack caressed the controls. Nothing like a sturdy little star hopper. Almost reminded him of that nice little ambulance ship he “borrowed” all those years ago, before he first met the Doctor. Lovely little thing…the ship, that is. Though the Doctor was too, of course.

            Jack flipped a few switches, and the ship roared to life. Well, more like shuddered, but it was enough. A few sputters, a little bit of rumbling, then the engines came on and held steady. Jack ran a quick diagnostic check, checking through the various systems on the ship: life support, check; fuel systems, check; engine stability, check. Within five minutes he was powering down the ship again, tapping it lovingly.

            “Looks like she runs just fine. We can stock up with food supplies and leave by nightfall.” Jack swiveled his chair around to face Alonso. “Well, what do you think? ‘Beaut, isn’t she?” Oh, shit. That look in Alonso’s eyes: looked all soft, like he was going to say something to Jack…Jack didn’t need to hear anything like that right now. He changed the subject as quickly as he could, with the first thing that came to mind. “Nuts?”

            Ah, well. Not exactly the _best_ thing he could have said, but it certainly worked. Alonso’s expression changed from that soft, Jack-didn’t-want-to-think-about-what-it-meant expression, to good and lusty. Jack could handle lust.

            Alonso leaned forward, pressing a nut (of the edible sort) past Jack’s lips and into his mouth. “Do you want to christen the ship?”

            Jack pressed his lips to Alonso’s and kissed him lightly. “What did you have in mind?”

            With another kiss and a wicked look, Alonso slid down Jack’s body until he was on his knees, fingers fumbling with Jack’s trousers. This, this Jack could deal with. This was good. Well, blowjobs were pretty much always good…ah. Okay, stopping coherent thought around now…

            Alonso’s lips wrapped around the head, right hand gripping the base firmly. Oh, Alonso was _good_. Really good. His lips were applying just the right pressure, almost teasing, but still enough to feel just…great…His tongue swept over the head, wrapping around it and lapping at the precome forming there. Jack groaned, and his hips thrust forward on their own accord. He was trying to be careful, but then Alonso showed him he shouldn’t bother. In one smooth movement, he removed his hand and took in all of Jack, sliding him down his throat expertly.

            “Fuck! Damn it…fuck…” Jack thrust his hips forward tentatively, but Alonso was having none of that. He slid him out and back in forcefully, encouraging him to move. Jack took the hint, thrusting forward with abandon, revealing in the sensation of his cock sliding in and out of Alonso’s throat. His orgasm began building inside of him; he could feel his balls clenching. Then Alonso pulled away.

            “Fuck! Alonso! Tease!”

            Alonso smirked up at him, obviously quite pleased with himself. “Well, you mentioned nuts…”

            Jack let his head fall back against the chair as Alonso bent down and sucked Jack’s balls into his mouth, rolling them over his tongue, laving each of them with attention. One hand held Jack’s shaft firmly, not letting it go neglected, while the other pressed steadily on his perineum. Jack trailed a hand down his chest, pulling up his shirt to tweak at a nipple. Damn it, Alonso was _good_. It took a long time before Ianto could…Jack pinched at his nipple harder. Not thinking about that right now. Not while Alonso was _oh_ , he bit down: just a little, just enough, “Ah, hey, ‘s good, but could you…”

            Alonso didn’t need telling twice. A moment later and he was swallowing Jack whole again, encouraging him to thrust into his throat. Jack let go, snapping his hips up once, twice, then, “ _Fuck_.” Jack groaned, coming down Alonso’s throat.

            He slumped back in the chair, eyes closed, breathing heavily. Coherent thought wasn’t really happening right now; all he could feel was Alonso placing light kisses on his over-sensitive cock, making his way up his body. Jack didn’t bother to kiss Alonso back when he reached his lips; he was still in a blissful, post-orgasmic haze. 

            “Aren’t you going to take care of me?”

            Jack groaned, batting at Alonso without opening his eyes. He just needed a few more minutes, maybe a quick nap…

            “You have terrible manners in bed.”

            Jack’s eyes snapped open. “What did you say?”

            Alonso was grinning lazily at him, one hand drifting down to stroke at his prominent erection still trapped within his trousers. He hummed questioningly. “Well, you getting off and forgetting about me. Terrible manners.”

            Jack was up like a shot, shoving past Alonso. He tucked himself back in as he stormed over to one of the bedrooms, slamming the door behind him. Fuck. Shit. Damn it. Why’d he have to…he couldn’t just…

            _“So what did Gwen mean exactly, when she said she’s heard I’ve got terrible manners in bed?”_

            _“Oh, well, you know. Eating in bed, getting crumbs everywhere, wiping your cum on the sheets. Terrible manners.”_

            _“So sorry, Ianto. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”_

            _“I’ve got a list.”_

            _“Oh, good. You never could do anything properly without a list.”_

            _“And that comment just got you another item added to the list.”_

            _“Should I stop talking?”_

            _“Please.”_

            Jack groaned, throwing himself down on the bed and shoving the heels of his palms into his eyes. He couldn’t just…but Alonso didn’t know. He couldn’t have known. It wasn’t his fault. 

            Jack didn’t care. He didn’t. Just because it wasn’t Alonso’s fault, that there was no way he could have known, it didn’t make it hurt any less. Didn’t make the pain go away, or the nightmare end…

            “Jack! Jack! What did I do?”

            Jack didn’t answer.

            “Jack! I can’t keep…If I don’t know anything, how am I supposed to know what’s going to upset you!” A pause, as he waited for Jack’s reply. “If you would just _talk_ to me, I wouldn’t say…whatever it is I said. I don’t _want_ to hurt you! I’m trying not to.” The last sentence was a whisper that Jack had to strain to hear. He ran a hand over his face and stared at the door. 

            “Sorry.” The word came out more like a croak, so Jack cleared his throat and tried again. “Sorry, Alonso. It’s…it’s Ianto.”

            “’Course it is…” Jack decided to pretend like he couldn’t hear Alonso’s grumbled remark.

            “I know you can’t help it. You don’t know what’s going to set me off. Hell, _I_ don’t even know.” Jack paused for a moment, considering. “He used to joke that I had terrible manners in bed. Made a list of things I had to do to make it up to him. What you said just reminded me of him.”

            “Jack, please open the door? I could help, if you’d let me.”

            Jack stood up and opened the door. A concerned Alonso greeted him, worry distorting his features. Jack ran a hand down his cheek, but pulled away as Alonso leaned into the touch. “I’m going to get supplies. Just enough food and water for a few weeks. Not that it should take that long,” _and not that I even need the supplies_ “but I’d rather be safe. I’ll be back before sunset, and then we’ll leave.”

            “Jack, if you would just _talk_ to me…”

            Jack pushed past Alonso, grabbing his rucksack as he headed out of the small ship. “See you in a few hours.” Whatever the Doctor’s intentions were for setting Jack up with Alonso, he wasn’t about to use the young man as a confidante. The man who held that title was dead. And Jack wasn’t about to replace him.

  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Alonso are on their way to the 456’s home planet; Alonso has reservations.

Jack adjusted the burn of the engines as they broke free of orbit and entered interplanetary space. A few more hours and they’d be in interstellar space; he’d get to really open up the engines then. Then it was only a few more hours after that before they reached Iucundia. Less than a day, and he’d have his revenge. For Ianto.

After checking to make sure the engine indicators were all on, Jack left the cockpit. Maybe he’d grab a snack, check his weapons, get that set up and ready to deploy.

“Jack.”

Jack shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. A stubborn Alonso was standing in front of him, with one of his recently procured depth charges in hand. “What exactly are you planning to do when get to Iucundia?”

Jack wanted to sigh, but instead kept steely eyes on the young man. “What exactly do you think?”

“Jack, if you’re going to blow up their atmospheric control center…”

“Weren’t you the one who told me about that?”

“…then you’ll kill everyone on the planet. That’s genocide!”

Jack stared at Alonso for a moment, considering. He took a single step forward: not too close, but enough to just be on the outer edge of Alonso’s personal space. “And what they tried to do to Earth? What they did to your planet centuries ago? Alonso, they wanted our children. Millions of them. To use as drugs.”

Alonso sputtered, and Jack could see him floundering for an argument. The worst part was, Jack _knew_ the arguments against what he was doing – he just didn’t care. And he certainly wasn’t going to give Alonso the arguments against him. “But the whole species? With no trial or due process…it’s wrong, Jack.”

“Have you ever heard of the Daleks?”

That gave Alonso pause. Jack breathed a sigh of relief: he had, even if it was just in the form of fairy tales or ghost stories. Good. If Alonso had heard of the Daleks, then Jack could use the analogy (improper as it might be) to justify himself. “Just…stories. Wasn’t sure if they were real.”

“They’re real. And whatever you heard, the reality is probably worse.” Jack took another step closer. He watched as Alonso leaned back, almost imperceptibly. “They have no remorse, no empathy. They are designed for one thing only: to exterminate all forms of life that are not Dalek. If even _one_ is left, they can rebuild their entire empire, and destroy the universe. In the face of such insanity, the only answer is genocide.” Jack paused. He waited as Alonso stood there, eyes darting around, trying to think of a response. 

“What about Ianto?”

Jack stiffened. Alonso’s eyes met his for the first time during the conversation, defiant. Jack turned away and headed toward his small bedroom. 

“Jack, no. You _cannot_ walk away this time. What about Ianto? Would he-”

“These things are the reason Ianto is dead!” Jack spun around, gripping Alonso’s arms like a vice. Fear flashed across his face, just for a second, but it was enough for Jack to shove him away and turn back toward the bedroom. 

“But would he have wanted you to do this? To get so caught up in revenge, to commit genocide?”

“Ianto was the one who made me stand up to them! Ianto was the one who refused to let them off, who held the 456 accountable for their actions!” Jack’s voice cracked. Fuck. Ianto…he knew, he heard Ianto’s stern Welsh voice in the back of his head, telling him what he really should be doing, how he really should be treating Alonso, how he should just continue on and… “Ianto, he - Ianto-”

Jack fell to the ground, gasping. It _hurt_. It hurt so much to remember him. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Alonso drop down to the ground with him. “Jack, you need to think about this. You’re going to commit genocide because some aliens killed your boyfriend.”

“He wasn’t my…I don’t know what…” Ianto wasn’t his boyfriend. They weren’t a couple. Ianto…he didn’t want that. He _said_ he hated the word couple, just like Jack did. But Jack had just said that because he was looking out for Ianto. He didn’t want Ianto to get swallowed up by him, to be known as “Jack’s boyfriend”. Ianto was himself, his own person, not something only given definition by his relation to Jack. But now that was what Alonso knew him as. Instead of everything that he was. 

“Jack…” Alonso’s voice was soft, kind. Irrationally Jack found that even more grating. He wanted to _fight_ , he wanted to get angry and hit and throw and _feel_ something other than this pain. “If…if you feel like you have to do this, that the Iucunds really deserve it, like the Daleks…what can I do to help?”

Jack felt a surge of anger, the likes of which he hadn’t felt since…since Ianto’s betrayal with Lisa. He leapt to his feet and shoved Alonso backwards with a single booted foot. “I’m going to commit genocide, and you’re asking what you can do to _help_? What’s wrong with you?”

Alonso stared up at Jack from the ground, befuddled. “But…I thought…”

“What? What did you think, Alonso? You think I _wanted_ you to agree with me?”

“I’m just trying to understand, to help…”

Jack dropped down to his haunches, gripping Alonso’s shirtfront. He felt his face contort into a snarl, and he knew this was wrong. He knew he was treating Alonso poorly, he knew he shouldn’t be committing genocide…but no one was stopping him. Ianto was gone. “Why the hell are you still here, Alonso? You’ve followed me a quarter way around the galaxy, and for what? To help me do this? Do you have a secret vendetta against the Iucunds, is that why?”

Alonso’s eyes were wide and scared. Jack could see the hurt in there as well, but he pushed the recognition aside, buried it deep, beneath the shroud of pain that Ianto’s death had left inside of him. “I…I dunno. I like you. I wanted to…to help. Have some fun, take care of you.”

Jack pushed Alonso backwards, disgusted. He stood up and turned his back on the young man sprawled on the floor, but made no move toward his bedroom. That was it. The kid was just a stray dog, desperately searching for something, some _one_ , to be loyal to. And the Doctor had made sure his search had ended with Jack. He must have thought that’s what Jack was missing, why Jack loved Ianto. The Doctor couldn’t have been more wrong, more blind.

            “You’re not taking care of me. Ianto took care of me.”

            “I know. He made you coffee, helped protect you, like from the Weevils…”

            Jack shook his head, laughing harshly. “That’s not how Ianto took care of me.” A nagging voice in the back of his head, a smooth, husky, Welsh voice was telling him that it wasn’t Alonso’s fault that he had gotten the wrong idea of what Ianto did for him. _Didn’t exactly have the full story, did he, Jack?_ “Ianto stood up to me. He told me when to back down, and he told me when to stand up. He…” Jack drew in a shaky breath. “He made me a better man; _was_ making me a better man.” He was always there, ready with a witty retort, or a harsh word, or just that considered silence, waiting for Jack to come to his senses, ready to guide him, shove him, force him if he didn’t. 

Jack turned and took one last look at Alonso. The boy still hadn’t gotten up from the floor, and had tears running down his cheeks. “You’re not him. You’ll never be him. No one could replace him, and no one ever will.” Alonso’s whole body shook a little bit, but Jack continued on, calmly. “This ship will arrive at Iucundia within the day. When it does, I’m going down there, and I’m destroying their atmospheric controls. I will kill every single one of the 456. It doesn’t matter to me what you do,” Jack walked past the prone Alonso, into the cockpit, “as long as you don’t get in my way.”

Jack touched the contact, sliding the cockpit door shut between him and a weeping Alonso. He locked the door, then turned to look out the window. Within the day he would arrive, and he would kill every last one of them. For Ianto.

**

Jack let up on the engine burn and set the little star hopper into high orbit around Iucundia. Alonso had given up banging on the door of the cockpit hours ago Thank goodness – he had started getting a headache around minute forty-five of the one-man siege. As he flicked through various scans on the planet, Jack took a moment to get a good look at it.

It was cloudy. That pretty much summed up the entire wretched planet. It was just a light grey sphere of gas, floating through space. And somewhere on that sphere – Jack leaned over the console and checked the map projected onto the planet – up in the northeast corner, from where he was looking, was the atmospheric control system.

Jack spun around in his chair and stared at the locked door separating him from the rest of the ship. He would have to open it, if he was going to get his supplies and set foot on the planet. It wasn’t like Alonso could stop him, either. But he’d rather not have to resort to hurting the kid in order to fulfill his mission.

He pressed his ear to the door, listening. Silence from the other side. Maybe Alonso fell asleep? He needed to go out there eventually; no use putting off the inevitable.

Jack pushed the contact on his side, unlocking the door and sliding it open. Alonso was sitting with his back against the airlock, sleeping.

Great.

Ignoring him, Jack started getting his supplies together. Alonso had stashed the hypercube in an air duct, but Jack hadn’t spent centuries alive to not know where all the good hiding places were. He found it quickly enough, checking through it to make sure everything was still there. Pulling out the two gasmasks, Jack wrapped one around his wrist, then strode over to Alonso. He had to wake the kid up sooner or later.

Without preamble he dropped the gasmask into the sleeping man’s lap. Alonso started awake, looking around wildly. He leapt up, the gasmask falling to the floor, unnoticed. “Jack! Listen, I know-”

“Alonso.” Jack cut him off with a sweep of his hand. “I’m going out there, and I’m killing every last one of the 456. You can’t stop me, so don’t bother. I don’t want to hurt you.” The way he said the last sentence left the unspoken words hanging clearly in the air: _But if I have to, I will_.

Alonso shook his head. “I know. I’m going with you.” Jack sighed. Just what he needed. “I want to help. You’re right, the Iucunds are evil. I’ll help.”

Jack came to a decision quickly. If worst came to worse, he could just trade his life for Alonso’s. At least he knew he’d get his back. “Fine. Put on your gasmask: we’re going in hot.”

Alonso bent down and began to fumble with the gasmask as Jack turned toward the cockpit. “Um, Jack?”

“What is it, Alonso?” He didn’t have _time_ for this right now. He needed to land at the atmospheric control center, plant the bombs, and get out, all as quickly as he could…

“Do you…” Jack could feel Alonso creeping up on him. It made his shoulder blades itch. “Do you have a plan? I mean, what are we going to do once we get down there?”

Jack didn’t look up from the controls. He needed to concentrate now: they hadn’t spotted him yet, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. The ship didn’t have any cloaking device, so it wasn’t like he was really flying under the radar. A stray eye his direction, and he’d be spotted. “Just land, plant the bombs, get out. In and out.”

Something was niggling at the back of Jack’s mind. Something…something was off…what _was_ it… “But, what if we have to fight? What if they try and stop us? They’ve got to have guards on the system, if it’s so important.” He couldn’t think with Alonso talking so much. Didn’t he ever know how to be quiet?

“Just trust me, alright? Let me handle it.” The descent was going fine. No hailing signals, no one signaling at him to slow down and report himself. Well, that was sort of weird. He wasn’t _that_ under the radar. Someone should have noticed them by now. Was it a trap? But it didn’t feel like one: usually traps made the hair on the back of his neck stick up. This didn’t have the same feel. What was with the radio silence, then?

With a soft thump, Jack landed the star hopper five minutes later. Still no word from anyone on the planet: no hailing signals, no calls to identify, nothing. This was weird. Something wasn’t right.

Jack pulled the two neutrino guns out from the hypercube, handing one to Alonso. The young man took it hesitantly; holding the gun like it might go off at any moment. Jack strode over to the door, then paused. He took a breath, held it, let it out. For a second, Jack felt like he was back in a war – any war, they all felt this way. The moment before they surged up from the trenches, before they made contact with the enemy: that was the tension he was feeling right now. 

He glanced back at Alonso. The young man looked like he was going to be sick, but his lips were pressed together in a determined line. Jack nodded at him, in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “We’re going to do this as quietly as possible. Just in and out. We might not even have to fight anyone, alright?”

Alonso nodded, then swallowed thickly. “Yeah. I’m alright.”

“Okay. Just…” _Might want to tell him about your ‘gift’ right around now. Probably a good time._ Jack pushed aside the Welsh-tinted voice that was nagging him. “Just stay behind me, if anything starts to go wrong, alright? I’ll keep you safe.” 

For a moment their eyes locked, and Jack could see Alonso was thinking the same thing. He hadn’t kept Ianto safe; he hadn’t been able to protect him. How could he promise that to this young man, when he couldn’t even do it for Ianto? 

            Jack suppressed the guilt, the shame. That’s why he was here: to get revenge, to put Ianto to rest. Jack strapped the gasmask on, Alonso copying him. “Alright. On three.” His voice came out muffled and low-pitched, but still intelligible. Jack turned to the door, hand hovering just about the contact. “One…two…three.” He pressed the contact, and the door swung open. The two men took their first steps out onto Iucundia.  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Alonso land on the 456s planet. Stuff goes down.

Jack’s breathing was loud in his ears. It was all he could hear for his first couple of seconds on the planet surface. Harsh panting: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. It was oppressive. He forced himself to take more regular breaths, to breathe in more slowly and steadily. Gradually, he calmed down, and his breathing slowed, growing quieter.

He turned back to Alonso. “Okay?” Alonso nodded, fingers tightening their grip on the neutrino gun.

Jack turned back to face forward. Back when he had first faced the 456, he hadn’t been able to get a good look at them because of the opacity of the air they breathed. Now...Jack clicked a button on the side of his gasmask, and suddenly the thick air fell away from his vision. Everything was clear: a little bit a future-tech went a long way. He looked ahead of him. There was a path, leading up to an ominous-looking building. Oddly enough, no one was on the path. He swiveled his head from side to side: still no one to be seen. Curious, but convenient. Maybe it was a bank holiday or something.

He started forward on the path, expecting Alonso to follow. Behind him, gravel crunched under foot, and Jack knew he had. After just a few minutes of walking they reached the front doors of the building, uninterrupted. Jack pushed at the doors. The gnawing, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach was stronger now, but he ignored it. It wasn’t like there was anything that could hurt him. At least, not permanently. 

The door opened with no resistance, just drifting backwards until the momentum from Jack’s push gave out. Jack took a step inside. Something was definitely not right. The building that machine that kept them alive was in was unlocked, with no guard? It may be safe from attack from any of the natives, but surely someone had tried to get revenge before, had tried the exact thing Jack was trying now. 

A few steps inside, his foot hit something. Jack glanced down, then leapt back. He collided with Alonso, and it took a moment of stumbling before both men managed to remain securely on their feet.

“What-?”

“Shh! It’s a…” Jack paused. He took a step forward. There, on the ground, was an Iucund. Or, what was left of one.

“It…it looks like it…exploded?”

Jack’s breath quickened. Wait. Wait a second. The telepathic link. It…it couldn’t have… _all_ of them?

Jack was off like a shot, running through the building. He ignored Alonso’s cries and hurried footsteps behind him. He ran from room to room, gaze sweeping across the ground. Dead, dead, dead, dead. Every single room told the same story: the Iucunds working here had all exploded, dying instantly. 

Jack turned back to run to the main room, meeting up with Alonso along the way. “Jack, what happened-”

Jack gripped Alonso’s shoulders, staring at him through the gasmask. “We need to find a…a news room. Some sort of…cameras! Security cameras. We need to find them, try and find them all over the planet, see if…” Abruptly he released Alonso and fumbled in the pocket of his coat. Of course. No life signs. _That_ was what was wrong. No life, anywhere on the planet. He flipped through his scanner, which had a direct link to the ship. Nothing, anywhere on the planet. They were all dead.

For a moment, Jack just stood there. Alonso’s voice was filling his ears, asking some sort of questions. Jack shoved the scanner in his hands and took off, slowly walking out of the building and back the way they came. Dead. All of them. Every one.

A cold feeling settled in the pit of Jack’s stomach. So they had been dead all along. The entire species had been dead for months. He had gotten his revenge for Ianto’s death not even a day after he died. 

Jack felt sick. He wanted to vomit. Or curse, or scream, or…

He ripped off his gasmask, throwing it as far as he could. A scream wrenched its way out of his throat, until it was replaced by fire. Dimly he heard Alonso shout, and then everything went black.

**

His whole body was on fire. Jack gasped, breathing air into his lungs. He felt…wetness, all over his face. As his vision cleared and his senses slowly came back to him, he saw Alonso hovering above him, crying and shaking. Oh, that’s where the wetness came from. Jack wiped at his face and mouth. Alonso must have tried giving him CPR while he was crying. Always fun.

“Oh, Jack, I…You were…I didn’t know what to…”

He glanced around. They were back on the ship, airlock closed tight. He looked back over at Alonso and sighed. “Don’t. I should have told you…”

Suddenly Jack was pulled into a tight embrace, a sobbing Alonso squeezing the fresh air from his lungs. “I thought…you’d…”

As gently as he could, Jack extracted himself from Alonso’s embrace. “I did.” Jack sighed again, running his hand through his hair. As calmly as he could, he looked Alonso in the eyes. “I died. But, thing is, I don’t stay dead.”

Alonso blinked. And he blinked again. “Are you…are you a Time Lord, too?”

That caught him off guard. Jack actually laughed: not loudly, not raucously, and just for a second. But he still laughed. “No, no. Definitely not. I’m just…odd. Something happened to me, and now I can’t stay dead. I just…bounce right back.”

Pain blossomed in Jack’s nose, and he saw stars. It took a good two seconds for him to realize Alonso had just punched him in the face. “Ow! What-”

“You could have told me! All this time, and you didn’t…”

Alonso had jumped up and was pacing the small confines of their ship. Jack winced – only partially because of the bloody nose. “Alonso, I know. I probably should have, but you’ve got to understand…”

“Did _he_ know?”

“Yes, but it was only after…”

“Oh, so you just let everybody think you die the first time they see it, is that it? Then spring it on them, like some sort of jolly Earth-Christmas present?”

Okay, so maybe Jack should have told Alonso. He could admit that much to himself. _Told you so_. Jack growled low in his throat at the voice in his head. It had a tendency to always be right. 

“Alonso, listen, I’m sorry. But we have to figure out why the Doctor put us together. I mean, if it wasn’t to get revenge, then...”

“Oh, come off it, Jack!” Alonso glared down at Jack, stopping for a moment in his pacing. Jack stared back, shocked. The thought dawned on Jack that he had really gone too far, with his death. Alonso was _livid_ – Jack had never seen him like this. Actually, it was kind of hot. But then Alonso was shouting again, and Jack had to set his libido aside for a moment. “Look, he obviously just thought you’d like some tight young thing to stick your cock into after the death of your boyfriend, or, excuse me,” Alonso sneered at Jack, “your ‘whatever, we-don’t-put-labels-on-our-relationship, oh wait, can-we-even-call-it-a-relationship?’.” Jack winced. That hurt. “And he thought that I apparently should be rewarded for my efforts on the Titanic with a shag from the great Captain Jack Harkness, best lay in the galaxy. Well good on me, enjoyed it the first time, after that things got a bit weird. Thanks a lot, Doctor.”

Jack stood, wiping at his nose and checking his hand. Already healing. That detail didn’t get past Alonso, but before he could start off again, Jack spoke. “Wait, wait. Listen, I know the Doctor. I spent a lot of time traveling with him.” Jack wasn’t sure if he should really mention that the one he knew most was a different incarnation of him – one look at Alonso’s face, and he decided against it. “He doesn’t do things without a reason. I mean, he does…” Jack considered all the times they had blundered into a situation without a plan. “But not something like this. This, _us_ ,” Jack gestured between them, “was for a reason. It _had_ to have been.” 

“Well then what was the reason, Jack? You can’t get your revenge, so what is it? Am I your dead boyfriend, brought back to life?”

The room grew still. Silent. _Back to life_. Jack stared at Alonso for a moment. “No. You’re not. You’re Alonso.”

Alonso stared back. “I know that.”

Jack waited another moment. Memories flashed through his mind. His own words floated back at him, across time. _There’s gotta be something; there’s gotta be an antidote_. _There’s gotta be something…an antidote…antidote…_

Alonso looked like he was slowly coming to the same realization as Jack. “How did Ianto die, again?”

“A…a virus.”

“That the Iucunds manufactured? Here?”

Jack stared out the cockpit window to the cloudy landscape. “I…think…”

“Jack. You don’t…I mean, it’s impossible. Isn’t it?”

Jack’s mind was racing. A million images and memories were flickering through his mind. The Doctor: meeting him in 1941. The hospital ship, filled with nanogenes. That ship that was still there, floating in space in 1941, for the taking. Still had a few extra seconds on the bomb timer. The Iucunds had an antidote. Meeting Alonso, learning that he knew where the Iucund home planet was. Noticing that Alonso’s home planet was the Time Agency future training ground. He could get a signal through to one of them, there. Get his vortex manipulator fixed, get the nanogenes, pick up the antidote here…

“Jack. He couldn’t have…”

Jack turned and looked at Alonso through tear-filled eyes. “I can…I can do it. That’s why the Doctor put us together.” He sucked in a deep breath. He didn’t even want to hope; it hurt too much. But… “We could bring Ianto back.”  
  
  



End file.
